Chapter 6 Killing a Tier 1 Monster
While waiting for the Iron Axe to be crafted, Qin Zhen took care of lunch: one Apple, three Strawberries, and a bag of Bread.
In less than ten minutes, the Iron Axe was finished.
[Iron Axe: Attack Power: 15; Durability: 150/150]
Not bad — chopping trees would definitely go faster with this.
She then checked the Inventory Expansion Cards: [Inventory Expansion Card: Upon use, expands your personal backpack by one slot.]
Qin Zhen used all five of them at once. Her backpack now had fifteen slots.
She could carry a lot more when heading out now — no more worrying about running out of space.
[Detected 6 boxes. Would you like to dismantle them?]
[Yes / No]
Qin Zhen selected No. She had accumulated quite a variety of items, and with her backpack unable to hold them all, they'd been piling up on the floor in a messy heap. These boxes would come in handy for storage.
Her supplies were roughly divided into food, tools, and daily necessities.
She sorted everything into the boxes inside the Shelter.
For her outing, Qin Zhen packed only: Iron Axe ×1, Stone Pickaxe ×1, a half-finished bottle of Mineral Water ×1, and Bananas ×2.
She chose Bananas because they were more filling than most other options.
She headed back to the same spot she'd visited yesterday afternoon, intending to continue searching for a water source.
Fresh water was absolutely one of the most critical resources on an island like this. If she found a reliable source, she could also use the Trading Market to exchange it with others.
The dense jungle blocked out the sunlight almost entirely, letting barely a ray filter through, which made the forest feel especially dark and gloomy.
Qin Zhen held a wooden stick in her left hand to clear the path, while her right hand gripped the Iron Axe in a ready-to-strike stance.
She soon passed the cluster of red-capped, white-stemmed mushrooms she'd spotted last time and didn't stop.
After roughly another ten-plus minutes of walking, Qin Zhen thought she heard the gentle murmur of flowing water. Her face lit up — were they close?
About seven or eight more minutes later, a long, winding stream finally came into view. Both banks were flanked by vast bamboo groves stretching as far as the eye could see.
Qin Zhen's eyes brightened. Bamboo was incredibly versatile, and bamboo groves were also prime territory for bamboo rats.
The bamboo stalks here were each as thick as a large bowl's rim — perfect for fashioning into a spear for spearfishing.
She swung the Iron Axe and felled a stalk of bamboo, but gained no EXP. Qin Zhen figured EXP was only awarded for harvesting items registered in the System — things like Wood, Stone, and Thatch.
She sharpened one end of the bamboo into several pointed prongs, then headed to the stream's edge with her makeshift bamboo spear.
The water was fairly clear, and she could see a few fish darting around beneath the surface. Qin Zhen waited for the right moment, then thrust the spear down — and... well... missed.
What? Qin Zhen frowned. She used to be an expert at spearfishing back in the countryside. How had she fumbled it today?
Try again.
She waited for another opening and thrust again. This time it worked — she speared a crucian carp that weighed roughly six to eight pounds.
[Dismantle?]
Qin Zhen tapped Yes and received: crucian carp meat 1kg ×1.
Qin Zhen: "?"
That big a fish, and the System only gave her 1kg? What a rip-off!
Qin Zhen grumbled under her breath, but her hands never stopped moving.
Over the next half hour, she speared two more fish. After dismantling them, she received crucian carp meat 1kg ×1 and snakehead fish meat 1kg ×1.
Qin Zhen decided not to continue. fish meat had too short a shelf life, and her backpack space was still limited. She'd come back for more another time.
For now, she planned to chop more bamboo to use as water containers and bring them back to the Shelter.
Each slot in her backpack held up to 99 units. With six slots currently in use, Qin Zhen decided to fill five slots with water.
It took over an hour, but Qin Zhen cut a total of 495 Bamboo Tubes.
She was exhausted and hungry.
Qin Zhen sat on the bank of the stream, scooping water into Bamboo Tubes and loading them into her backpack while munching on her Bananas — both of them — until she finally felt somewhat full.
It took nearly another hour to fill all five slots with water.
Qin Zhen glanced at the time: 3:40 PM. Time to head back.
Just then, she spotted something in the bamboo grove ahead — a bright green snake, over two meters long.
"Holy crap!"
That thing looked exactly like a bamboo pit viper. But could a bamboo pit viper really grow that big?
Then again, Qin Zhen figured that since she'd somehow ended up in what seemed like a game world, an oversized bamboo pit viper wasn't that far-fetched.
The green snake hadn't attacked her. Qin Zhen guessed it was because of the Beginner Protection Period.
She'd been thinking that the Beginner Protection Period wasn't just the game System shielding players from attacks for the first three days.
The real hidden message it conveyed was that players should use these three days to gather as many resources as possible, so they'd have the means to defend themselves once the protection expired.
A snake like this — if Qin Zhen encountered it tomorrow, it would probably attack her on sight.
But right now, she could take the initiative and strike first.
Fortune favors the bold.
Qin Zhen made up her mind to take the gamble. If she didn't dare fight today, then tomorrow she'd have nothing to look forward to but death.
She gripped the Iron Axe and crept silently toward the green snake, then brought the axe down hard on its body.
The snake recoiled in pain — that strike had dealt 24 points of damage.
At that moment, she also saw the snake's information panel.
[Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper: Lethal Venom; Attack Power: 30, with a lethal venom effect dealing -5 HP per second; Defense: 20; HP: 200]
Qin Zhen: "..."
200 HP — she'd need to hit it nine times!
Taking advantage of the snake's momentary shock, Qin Zhen swung the Iron Axe four more times in rapid succession.
The Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper was down to 80 HP.
But now the snake struck back, lunging forward and sinking its fangs into Qin Zhen's left arm.
"Ahh—!"
The bite cost her 30 HP — that alone wasn't the problem.
But... the Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper's lethal venom!
Sure enough, her HP began to drain steadily.
-5... -5... -5...
Within seconds, Qin Zhen had lost several dozen HP.
She was down to 90 HP now. She couldn't afford to drag this out.
With the snake still clamped onto her left arm, Qin Zhen kept swinging the Iron Axe with her right, hammering blow after blow into the Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper.
One... two...
The snake whipped its tail and slammed it into Qin Zhen's abdomen. She coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Three... the final blow!
The Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper's body crashed to the ground. Qin Zhen had 40 HP left — and it was still ticking down.
[Dismantle Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper?]
Qin Zhen quickly tapped Yes. The snake's gallbladder could neutralize the venom — it was the only way she could think of to survive right now.
Received: [Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper Meat 1kg ×5, Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper Gallbladder ×1, Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper Fang ×2, Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper Hide ×1, Tier 1 Bamboo Pit Viper Scale ×10, Life Potion ×3, Black Iron Chest ×1, EXP +50]